Wounded Warrior Project

Slo-n-Eazy Kennel is extremely proud to annouce that we aided in raising funds in the amount of $4,321 for the Wounded Warrior Project with our sponsored event. We fell short of our $10,000 goal, but nevertheless are extremely pleased. We would like to thank everyone that donated and everyone that helped us with the Yukon Quest. Without your help none of it could be possible. It is up to the American people to help support our wounded soldiers in this economical state and are happy to see that people are willing to open their pocket books to help out where they can for our soliders. We still will be raising awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project and donations can be made at anytime in any amount to the following link WWP Donations. Also be sure to check the WWP page frequently for events in your local area: WWP Proud Supporter Events. For God and Country...

Home At Last

Slo-n-Eazy Kennel departed Whitehorse yesterday on Jason's 40th Birthday. It was a tough time for all of us as it was the anticipated day that Jason's would have completed the Quest. It is one of the hardest things to accept after planning for years to reach the start line only for your personal body to be the weak link of the team, but we felt it was the right thing to do to dust off the defeat and move on down the trail to help our friends and fellow mushers complete their mission.
We transported 8 dogs from Abbie's team home yesterday and today we get to spend with our kennel. We have missed the dogs terribly. They are sitting in the yard howling fat and happy waiting for a short run. Jason is feeling much better, but is still in pain. He is making a doctor appointment as I am typing.
Today the kennel made a $250 donation to the Wounded Warrior Project. We were hoping for a much larger price at the end of our Quest, but any amount to help soldiers in need is better than zero. We want to thank everyone for their dedication to the mushers and helping us raise awareness and money for the Wounded Warrior Project and supporting the Yukon Quest. It means so much to us to see how much a little can go a long way.
Thank you again to all the Quest officials, volunteers, and fans that made this race a success. Thank you to everyone that helped us along the trail and to get to the trail. And lastly thank you to all that made a donation to the WWP.
Donations are still being accepted and please share with your friends so that no soliders are forgotten: https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012/
For God and Country....

A sad day....

After arriving in Circle Jason was in excruciating pain with his back, which just kept getting worse. Jason attempted to do a long rest to see if he could worked through his back injury. It was taking Jason 3 times as long to care for the dogs and he was unable to pick up over 15 pounds and was barely walking. He made the very hard decision that it was best for both the dogs and himself to scratch. He knew if he got into a difficult situation he did not have the strength needed to protect his team or himself. He is extremely disappointed with the outcome, and he feels as if he failed the team.

All the doggies are safe at home and doing very well. They are in great shape and were looking amazing after the run in from Circle which was one of the best run times. It is a sad day for the kennel. Jason is recovering from his injury and will see a doctor soon. Unfortunely he is unable to take any pain medication due to a pre-existing medical condition. Two Rivers Musher scratches in Circle

We are leaving for Dawson later today to continue on the race trail and hopefully help out our fellow mushers down the trail. We are still hoping to continue to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project and to someday we will complete this Quest.  We will see you down the trail. Thank you all for your support and help we appreciate everything that everyone has done to assist us and the WWP....
https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012/
More to come from the trail as soon as I can get all the stories out of the old chap...

Off in a Flash

Jason is off and headed towards the first checkpoint. It seems his Spot Tracker is not working right now and will be looked at once he reaches the checkpoint.

 At the start all the dogs looked great and were very excited to get started. He past the Pleasant Valley Store which is about 40 miles from the start at 1530 and he seemed to be in good spirits.

Little Roy and Bubba charge down the starting shoot

Almost.......

Today will be spent doing the final packing. Ready for an early start downtown Saturday morning. We will be attending the Pancake feed at 0800 and then on to the dog yard to start the unpacking.

Listen to Jason's radio interview on 98.1 fm around 920 am. Also during the race Jason will be calling in from each checkpoint with updates so please stay tuned.

I would like to take the time to thank everyone from the Quest fans and volunteers to everyone that has donated to the Wound Warrior Project and are follow the cause. Every penny counts and no donation is too small. It is a great cause and we appreciate the chance to raise funds for the WWP and help our warriors so that they are no forgotten.

Please check out Jason's latest article in the Chicago Southtown: Former Oak Lawn Man Mushing for a Cause

All donations for the WWP can be made here:

https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012

See you tommorow morning at the start - Jason will be leaving the shoot at 1124am. Happy trails!

Bib Draw

Well, I never knew that it was so easy to quiet down Jason, just put him in front of a banquet hall full of people and suddenly the man that is never at a loss of words is at a loss for words. If I had known that I would have done that years ago.

The bib draw went well. Jason had a local young and upcoming musher Bree assist him in drawing his start number. He is starting out with bib number 9. He will be departing the starting shoot at 1124 on 4 Feb 2012.

Please join us for the start of the race on Saturday or at Meet the Musher tomorrow night at the Alpine Lodge at 6pm.

Let no soldier be forgotten. Donate to the Wounded Warrior Project here: https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012

Twitter

Follow us on Twitter during the Yukon Quest @slo_n_eazy

Donations for the Wounded Warrior Project

Excitiment is starting to bubble in the house and dog yard in anticipation for the big day. All donations for the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) can be made here:

https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012

Check out the article written about the WWP here:
http://www.newsminer.com/view/full_story/17358521/article-Rookie-musher-running-Yukon-Quest-for-a-special-cause?instance=home_news_window_left_top_4

Almost....

Drop bags were a successful adventure and now on with the next task sequence. We attended the purse party and got to hang out with some of our friends, fans, and supporters. The turn out was awesome and it is always a bit strange to be the one doing the autographs:)

All the doggies received some special treatment this week. A visit in the house for a little up close and personal grooming and vet care is just what the musher ordered. Everyone's feet are in excellent shape, and now looking especially pretty with their feet hair and nails freshly trimmed. The dogs have excellent weight on them and are looking happy and ready for their vet check tomorrow morning. We have narrowed down the team to 15 dogs - wondering who will be the unlucky one to stay at home - kinda wishing I could stay on the couch myself with temps dropping down into the 40 belows. But really don't want to miss out on all the excitement waiting out on the trail.

We would also like to give another thank you to a great couple Bill and Susan McDonald they are awesome. Help us to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. Please help us to make sure no veteran is forgotten in this great time of need for our nation. Donations can be made at the following URL:

https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012/

Packing Packing Packing

Well, drop bags are all packed and ready for tomorrow. Thanks to all who helped out in the process. It really takes a lot of time and effort to pack for a 1000 mile race.  Have plenty of variety packed for the doggies. Ready for the camping trip of the year.

Wounded Warrior Project

Slo-n-Eazy Kennel is owned and operated by Jason Weitzel and his wife Susan Allmeroth. Jason is gearing up to run the 2012 Yukon Quest which is a 1000 mile International sled dog race. Both Jason and his wife are veterans dedicated to raising awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. Jason is donating half of his winnings to and attempting to raise $10,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. Jason has register his run as a Sponsored Event to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).

 

The Yukon Quest race starts in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska at 11:00 am on the Chena River and finishes approximately 10-14 days later in Whitehorse, Canada on the Yukon River. The finish and award banquet will be held on 18 Feb in Whitehorse, Canada.We encourage anyone to join us at the start, middle, or finish of the race to cheer our team on and spread the word that we are trying to raise both awareness and funds for the Wounded Warrior Project.

The purpose of the WWP is :

• To raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members.
• To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members

All donations for the WWP can be made here:
https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/yukonquest2012/.  Please help us reach our goal and support the wounded warriors so that they are not forgotten.

New Sponsor

Special thanks to our new sponsor VFW Golden Heart Post 3629 to their donation. Without local support we could not make it to our goal.

Training in Paxson

Jason went down to the Paxson area for a training run only to experience high winds and soft trails. It was a great training experience for the dogs. Jason is extremely pleased with the performance of the team during his training runs. The stories he returned with were exciting and full of challenges. The trail was blown in and the snow berms were side hilled 5-6 feet in places. At one point the lead dogs disappeared from sight. He anchored down the team only to find Roy and Murtle had jumped off the guard rail and were dangling in their harnesses. He had to pull them up about 7 feet to safety. I told him he was lucky to have dogs that loved him enough to jump off a cliff for him. He was proud of his dogs for really shining and pulling through without a hitch. Another great chance for training and getting the dogs on new trail, different conditions and terrain, and camping on straw.

We also picked up two new dogs from Michelle Phillips to fill out our team. Frog is a large male that is only best described as a maniac. He is a very hard worker and loves to eat. Pixie is a smaller female that runs professional swing and is a sweet heart. Both dogs fit excellent in to our team. We have been battling injuries in our small kennel and the two new additional fill out the team beautifully. Special thanks to Michelle and Ed Hopkins.

TRDMA Solstice100

The Two Rivers Dog Mushing Association hosted the Solstice 100 Dec 17, 2011. It was an exciting start to our race season and a great chance to get the dogs on some straw and in the race atomosphere. It was a bit warm for a December race, but the team really shined placing 5th out of 12 teams. We escaped the race with no injuries to dogs or self which is also a plus on an especially hard trail. Special thanks to all that helped us get to the race and during the race.
At the finish of the Solstice 100. Photo courtesy of Mariska Wright.